Ordnance.



No. 777,437. PATENTED DEG, 13, 1904.

J. E. SHERIPF L F. L. NIGHLS.

ORDNANGE.

APPLIOATIQN FILED 171151.15, 1904.

WW1/woog@ No. 777,437. l PATENTBD DEC. 13, 1904;

. J. E. SHERIFF dz P. L. NICHOLS.

ORDNANGB.

APPLICATION FILEDJAN. 15, 1904.`

N0 MODEL. 8 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

n I l M .M ,im @511km @litem/m38,

No, 777,437. l PATENTE DBG.13,`1904.v

' J. E. SHERIH L F. L. NICHOLS.

ORDNANCE. f

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 15, 1904.

:No 310ML. SHEETS-SHEET a.

No. 777.437. PATBNTBD DEC. 1s, 1904. J. E. SHERIFP a; F. LNIGHOLS.

ORDNANGE.

APPLIQAIIOH FILED JAN'.15, 1904.

B SEHEN-SHEET 4,

NO MODEL.

gam@ am@ QmLm/QLM PATENTBD DB6. 13, 1904.

J. E. SHERIPF an P. L. NICHOLS.

y ORDNANCE. APPLIUATION FILED JAN. 15, 1904. N0 MODEL. 8 S-HBBTS-SHBBT 6.

ilnrrnfn Sriirns Patented December 13, 1904.

,nii/ins. n. snnnirr, or NEW YORK,- N. AND FRANK L. menons, or

sTAMFonD, CONNECTICUT.. 1'

RDNNCE.

SECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 777,437, dated December 1:5, HU/1i..

I Application filed January 15, 1904. Serial No. 1S9168. (No model.)

To all whom it rit/ty concern:

Be it known that We, JAMES E. SHERIFF, residing in the borough of Brooklyn, in the city and State of New York, and FRANK L.v NICH- ofis, residing' Stamford, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, citizens of the Un' ed States, have invented new and use' ful Ordnance, of which tbe following is a speci-l lication.

0dr invention relates to ordnance, with the object in View of producing a wire-Wound gun in which the stresses shall be so distributed as to render the gun light and strong.

lv'ith end in view ourinvention consists, primarily. in a wire-wound gun having' a core composed of tubes so related prior tothe winding of the Wire thereon that an exterior tube may be materially compressed Without materially compressing an inner tube.

Our invention further consists in certain features of construction and combination ofi parts, as will be -liereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

A practical embodiinent'of our invention is represented in the accompanying drawings, in which I Figi-ire l a view of the gun in side elevation neit :1 "s `when completed. Fig. 2 is' an outline of the snmehaving the breech-open ing, powdir-chamber, and bore indicated in dotted iines. longitud iinil central section coveringad ista-nce indicated at e., ig. il. tion covering a distance indicated at B, Fig, 2. Fig. fis as' nilar view coveringadistance indlifaied -z U, ifig. 2. Fig'. 6 is a Similar' a distance indicated at D, Fig.

View poveri! u 2. Fig. 'i is n View taken in the same plane as i with the wire winding and jacke-ts removed, shmring vthe manner of engaging the tubes with 'the breech end of the core-tube.l Fig. e is an enlnged transverse section in the y plane of theline-:gl l of Fig. 2. Fig; 9 is a partial longitudinal central sectioncovering` the distance indicated atl), Fig. 2, and showing a modiiied form ofwire body andgnuzale Structure; and Fig. l() isan exaggerated partial transverse section indicating the'skin fealiig. 3 is an enlarged partial' Fig. fl -is asimilar secture of the-superposed tubes and their rela` a tapered portion 4l, extending from at or near the rear .end or the powder-chamber 3 to a point over the opening-5 for the reception of the breech-block, decreasing in diameter step by step to the extreme rear end, forming in the present instance the three steps 6, 7

and 8 for the reception of the brocoli-bolster' 9, the interior of which is fitted to conform to the steps 6, 7, and- 8, and then gradually enlarged as it extends forwardly, forming the forwardly-flaring portion l0, Within which the rear end of 'the Wire body is locked, as

.will hereinafter more particularly appear.'

K For the purpose of preventing the accumulated compression of the several layers of Wire Winding from being' exerted directly upon the core-tube and to relieve it from a strain which is liable to crush it beyond its Velastic limit we build a portion of the body of the gun, in proximity to the core-tube l, of one or more, A,preferably several, tubes, the

innermost of which is fitted to conform to the exterior of the core-tube and each succeeding on'eyof which is fitted to conform to the ,one which is in immediate proximity 'thereto within it.` In tbe present instance we have shown the core-tube as 'originally provided with eight of these superposed tubes, extending substantially the entire length of the chase and over the powder-chamber, the said super-4 posed tubes being denoted, from the inner to the outer, by 11, 12, 13, 14, l5, 16, 17,'and 18. This number is not, however, an essential feature of our invention, as there may be more or less. of these'tubes as further experience Inayfprove desirable. These several tubes are expanded toffollow the tapered portion of the core-tubefettbe forward end of. .the powder-chamber, and at their rearv ends they are interlocked with the breech portion l of the gun, 1n the present instance with the may have their rear ends tapered during the rolling process, as indicated at the rear end of the tube 18, Fig. 7, to permit the rib 19to be passed over the projection 21 immediately in front of its seat, and these expanded ends of the tubes are compressed by any suitable means to force the rib 19 to its seat preparatory to the adjustment of a succeeding tube.

rihe bottoms of the annular seats 2O are radially nearer the axis of the gun than the exterior surfaces of the next adjacent interior tubes, and hence the tubes may be extended full thickness over the projection 2l and yet firmly interlock with the tapered breech portion. These bodyftubes, which extend substantially the length of the chase and powderchamber, are gradually turned down, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, until but two of them, 1l and 12, and a part of the third, 13,finally reach the extreme forward end of the chase, and in order to provide for the increased number of layers of wire around and in proximity to the powder-chamber and to materially strengthen the gun at this point additional shorter superposed tubes 22, 23, 24, and 25, in the present instance four, are superposed and terminate opposite the forward end of the powder-chamber and rear portion of the chase, as clearly shown in Fig. 4.

An important feature of our invention isA4 the arrangement of the superposed tubes so that there shall be a certain definite space, however small it may be, between the inner surface of a tube and the exterior surface of the adjacent interior tube, whereby each exterior tube may be subjected to a material compression before this force is transmitted to the next adjacent interior tube, and, so far as this part of our invention is concerned, it is to be distinctly understood that the superposed tubes which surround the core-tube are not intended to rest in such close proximity when they are originally arranged as to make .a continuous body, but are arranged so that each exterior tube will have aslight lateral play with respect to the interior tube, the amount of suoli play being determined .with great accuracy and depending upon. the amount of compression to be exerted by the several layers of wire wound under tension.

' The tubes which we superpose about the tiibe-core are preferably of seamless machinewrought tubing' and are preferably made so thin that any considerable flaw would be readily observed, although it will be obvious that a flaw in any one part of these several tubes would be of comparatively little account when covered by the sound portion of one or more exterior tubes.

lt is intended to assemble the tubes in their normal condition-fa'. e., withv their opposite surfaces or skins in the condition in which they were left or placed by the manipulation incident to their manufacture. This condition may be a special condition of toughness or hardness suitable to the purfpose for which the tubes are to be used. f

The layer 26 of wire which` is wound along the chase of the gun-in the form shown in Figs. l to 8, inclusive, the first layer exterior to the superposed tubes and in the form shown in Fig. 9 the second layeref-is composed of wire which is deeper or thicker than the wire which is to form the greater portion of the body of the wire-wound portion,the depth or thickness being here shown as about twice that of the ordinary wire.; and this layer 26 is turned off, as shown in/Figs. l to 8, on a taper corresponding to th'e exterior taper of the body of exterior Wire winding until lthe depth or thickness is about one-half the original depth ofthe wire orf' until the depth or thickness of the,l ordinary wire will just lill the cut-away portion up to the original depth or thickness of the wire, and then a new step l is formed by beginning the taper at .the ex terior of the full depth of wire, as shown at 27, andagain gradually turning away the exterior of said layer 26' to conform to the taper of the exterir of the body of wire winding until the depth or `"thickness of the ordinary wire will ll the cut-away portion flush with the surface of the wire of the layer 26, and so on throughout the chase. The chase ofthe gun is then wo d by subsequent layers 28 of wire up to the steps formed by thecutting away of the deeper layer 26 and until lthe few roo exterior laye s of wire extend continuously V to the extre/ e muzzle, as shown in Fig. 6.

Instead of cutting'away the deeper layer of wire, as sli/own in Figs. l to 8, it may be out away to a depth less than .the thickness of the ordinary/wire, as shown at 29, Fig. 9, andthe layer of ordinary wire 30 immediately exterior to the deeper layerA 31, corresponding to the layer 26, above referred to, may be turned dovtn to bring its exterior Hush with the exterior of the deeper layer 31. When this form of cutting away the deeper layer is resorted to, the said deeper layer is cut away on two different tapers, the first part throughout about one-half of the length of' the step being cut away, as shown at 32, Fig. 9, on aA taper corresponding to the taper of the exterior chase-jacket, and the final portion (denoted by 33, Fig. 9) being cut away on a taper corresponding to the tapenof the body of superposed tubes. When this manner of turning down the stepson the deeper layer of wirev is resorted to, it may also' be found desirable to first wind the body of superposed tubes with a continuous layer 34 of Wire ofl ordinary depth and then piace the deeper wire' layer exterior to this. riihis structure has the advantage of 'strengthening the Wire body at the points where the deeper layer is cut away .y tothe greatest depthLa'sit leaves something like two-thirds or more of the depth intact, and hence the tension exerted ulpon the deeper layer during its Winding will not have a tendency to stretch the Wire beyond its elastic limit 'at the point where the step is complete. T be inner layers of wire abut at their rear ends vagainst the forward ends of a' shorter superposed tube, as shown at Fig. 4, and the subsequent layers which terminate opposite the tapered portion 2 of the coreare conven.A

iently anchored in aconical anchoring-ring 35, having its interior fitted to conform to vthe outer of the body of superposed tubes which extend opposite the tapered portion Z and its outer face provided Witba series of steps 36, on which the seif'erai Wire layers are anchored.

,A series of tapered anchoring or abutment rings,37 38,`&,e., are located exterior to the body of Wire winding along the tapered portion opposite the rear part of the chase and -forward part of the powder-cliamber, as sho Wn n Fig. 4. These rings are made to overlap a ittle distancey so that a previousiyedjusted ring after having been wound 4 up to will form a shallow shoulder for adjusting a succeeding ring. The overlap is so limited that a. succeeding ring may be expanded and slippedl over a previously-adjusted ring and sh runlr or com ressed to its seat.

tapered anchoring rings or abutments 39 40,

&c., is located Within tbe flaring portion. 10 of the breech-bolster and forms, seats for the A layers of wire which terminate within the said ,'teriOI thread 4L by which it is screwed into 'the rear end of the trunnion-jaclret 42 to hold flaringl part of V.thebreech-bolster. rlhis feature provides for gradually red ucinghthe thickness of the wire body at the-breech and also provides forthe elongation ofthe wire body under radial compression Without transmitting the elongating strain to the core throughout this portion of the gun, sincefthe over lapped edge ofja smaller ring would be shared by its succeeding ring before the corebecamo unduly strained.

'The breech-bolster 9 is provided with an exthe parts in assembled adjustment.

At the muzzle the chase-jacket terminates a short distance balrfrom the extreme end of th'e muzzle, and additional layers of Wire, in

y e presentinstance two layers 43 44, are in-' roduced between itand an annular ring 45, which is screwed onto the muzzle-bolster 46, the latter being in turn screwed onto the core-tube l. lhcring 45 as well as the layers 43 44lofwire and the extreme end of thev chase-jacket 51 are covered by a jacket 47, screwed onto the muzzle by a screw-thread 48 -on the exterior of the ring 45 engaging with A similar series ofv a corresponding threadon the interior of the forward end of tbe'muzzle-jacket 47. In the form shown'in Fig. 9 the muzzle-jacket 49 1s 'screwed directly onto the muzzle-bolster 50 and overlaps the forward end of the chasejacket 51.

Thewire'body ofthegun has a 4true andy uninterrupted taper throughout the length of the chase or greater portion thereof; the outer surface of .the Wire ,body conforming tothe interior taper of the chase-.jacketand the in. tenior surface of said Wire body conforming to the exterior taper of the body of superposed tubes, the gradual reduction in thethickne'ss of the wire body being proportionate to the gradual reduction of pressure in the bore of the gunvwhen the gun is fired. The structure of the body is such that the chase-jacket may A be placed in position over the muzzle end of the body and drawn into position by the screwing ofthe breech-bolster 9 into position, the

two parts-viz., the breech-bolster Sand the tru'nnion jacket 42-being arranged to be drawn toward one another and to' force the parts between them into a compact assembled adjustment. y'

' By means of the construction 'and relative arrangement. of the tubes hereinabove described the compression exerted upon an outer" tube by the primary layer of wire woundun-4 der tension may compress said outer tube Without materially compressing an inner tube; but such outer tube may be compressed to a point where a subsequent layer of Wire woundv pressures of the several layers of wire may IOO IIO

be subjected to the pressure lof the exterior layer of Wire only. y

It is obvious that changes might beresorted to in the form and arrangement of the several parts without departing lfrom the spirit and scope of our invention. Hence we do 4not wishy to limit ourselves to the structure herein shown and described; but

Vihat we claim isw l. A wire-wound gun havinga core formed primarily of super-posed tubes, the circumference of the bore of an exterior tube being greater than the circumference .of a succeeding interior tubcwhereby an exterior tube may be materially compressed Without materiallyicompressing the inner tube.

2. A wire-wound gun having a core-tube, a tube surrounding the core-tube and having thev circumference of `its bore .primarily 'greater than the circumferenceof the core-tube, Where- Isoo by the surrounding tube may be materially compressed without affecting' the coretube and a gun-body exerting compression on said surrounding tube.

3. A gun comprising a core formed of superposed tubes structurally in their normal condition with their skin-surfaces intact and a body exerting compression on the core.

4. A gun comprising a core-tube gradually enlarged to form the powder-chamber, a tube superposed upon the core-tube and enlarged throughout a portion or' its length to conform to the shape of the core-tube, the circumference of the bore of the supcrposed tube being primarily greater than the circumference of the core-tube whereby the former may be materia-ily compressed without materially compressing the latter and a gun-body exerting compression upon the superposed tube.

5. A gun comprising a core-tube enlarged to form the powder-chamber, a plurality of superposed tubes surrounding the core-tube and enlarged throughout portions ot' their lengths to conform to the shape of the coretube, a superposed tube having the circumfer ence of its bore primarily greater than the circumference oi' an adjacent inner tube whereby the exterior tube may be materially com pressed Without materially compressing the inner tube and a gun-body exerting compres sion upon the superposed tubes and core-tube.

6. A gun comprising a body portion and a core formed of superposed tubes, an exterior core-tu be having an interlocking' engagement with the breech portion of the gun.

7. A gun comprising a core-tube provided with a tapered portion, an annular groove in said tapered portion, a tube superposcd upon the core-tube and provided with an inwardlyextended annular rib for engaging' the groove in the core-tube and a gun-body exerting compression upon the said super-posed tube.

8. A gun comprising a core-tube provided with a tapered portion, annular grooves formed at intervals in the exterior surface of the tapered portion, superposed tu bes provided with annular ribs at their ends fitted to enter the grooves in the tapered portion of the core-tube and a gun-bodywcxerting compression upon the superposed tubes. l

9. A gun comprising a core-tube havin a tapered portion, annular grooves formed in the tapered portion, superposed tubes having inw ardlyprojectd ribs adapted to seat iu said grooves and a body oi' wire wound on the superposed tubes under compression.

10. Agun comprising a/core-tubc having a portion tapered outwardly and another portion tapered inwardly as it extends from the muzzle toward the breech, superposed tubes abutting against the outwardly-tapered portion. a breech-bolster abutting against the inl wardly-tapered portion, a body exerting pression upon the superposed li-.bes and a.

jacket having a screw-threaded engagement with the breech-bolster for drawing the bolster and jacket into snug contact with their respective seats.

11. A gun comprising a core-tube having tapered rings for anchoring successive layers ot' wire, the said rings overlapping one an other to a limited extent.

14. A gun comprising a core-tube having a portion tapered outwardly and another portion tapered inwardly as it extends from muzzle toward the breech, superposed tubes abut ting against the outwardly-tapered portion, a breech-bolster abutting against the inwardlytapered portion and provided at its front with a aring mouth, annular abutmen t-steps seated within said flaring mouth, a body of wire wound on the superposed tubes and abutting against the said annular steps, a jacket surrounding the body of wire and having 'a screw-A threaded engagement with thc breech-bolster for drawing the parts into snug contact with their respective seats.

15. A gun comprising a core-tube having an outward taper throughout a portion of its length, superposed tubes abutting against said outwardly-tapered portion, a breech-bolster litted to said core-tube and a body of Wire surrounding the super-posed tubes, a chase-jacket having an outwardly-tapered portion, annular abutment-seats on the inner face of said tapered portion ot the jacket, the said jacket and breech-bolster having a screw-threaded engagement for drawing the parts into close contact with their respective seats. f

16. A gun comprising a core tapered on its exterior and a body composed of wire wound under tension. the said body of wire includ- ,ing a layer of wire deeper or thicker than "other layers of wire, said deeper or thicker wire layers being turned down to form tapered steps for the reception of exterior' layers of wire.

17. A gun comprising a core having a tapered exterior and a body composed of wire wound under tension, said body of wire including a wire layer deeper or thicker than other layers of wire, the said deeper or thicker layer c? wire being turned to form steps, each having diti'erent pitches ot' taper, the taper of one portion of a step corresponding to the ta- ICO IlO

forming an abutment for the wire, a ring having a screw-threaded engagement with the exterior of the muzzle-bolster, a chase-jacket and a muzzle-jacket having a screw-threaded engagement with the exterior of said'ring and overlapping the chase=jacket.

19. A gun comprising a core, a body of wire Wound under tension, a muzzle-bolster forming an abutment for the wire, aring having a screw-threaded engagement with the exterior of the muzzle-bolster, a chase-jacket and a muzzle-jacket having a screw-threaded engagement with the exterior of said ring and overlapping the chase-jacket, the `space ,between the forwardend of the chase-jacket and .the said annular ring being filled with wire wound under tension.

20. A gun comprising a core conical throughout a portion of. its length'and formed of superposed tubes, a conical eXteriorly-Stepped ring seated on said conical portion ofthe core and a body exerting compression on the core.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our lnvention we have signed our names, 1n

presence of two witnesses, this 11thl day of 3 January, 1904. y

JAMES E. SHERFF..

FRANK L. NICHOLS.

Witnesses: FREDK. HAYNES C. S. SUNDGREN. 

